Issued  September  30,  1910. 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


FARMERS’  BULLETIN  409. 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


BY 


DICK  J.  CROSBY, 

Specialist  in  Agricultural  Education , 

AND 

F.  W.  HOWE, 

Assistant  in  Agricultural  Education , 
Office  of  Experiment  Stations. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1910. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


https://archive.org/details/schoollessonsonc4014cros 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 

Washington ,  D.  C.,  May  1 ,  1910. 

Sir:  Three  years  ago  the  Department  issued  as  Bulletin  No.  186, 
Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  a  publication  entitled  “  Exercises  in 
Elementary  Agriculture — Plant  Production.”  Owing  to  the  con¬ 
tinuous  and  growing  demand  for  this  bulletin,  coming  largely  from 
rural-school  teachers,  it  seemed  wise  to  provide  for  its  more  general 
distribution  by  reissuing  it  in  the  series  of  Farmers’  Bulletins. 
Accordingly,  Parts  1  and  2  of  Bulletin  186,  dealing  with  the  plant 
and  its  environment,  were  revised  and  published  as  Farmers’  Bulletin 
No.  408,  School  Exercises  in  Plant  Production.  Part  3,  lessons  on 
corn,  has  been  rewritten  and  combined  with  Circular  96  of  this 
Office,  How  to  Test  Seed  Corn  in  Schools,  and  is  submitted  herewith 
for  publication  as  a  Farmers’  Bulletin  on  School  Lessons  on  Corn. 

Respectfully, 

A.  C.  True, 

Director. 

Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 


409 


3 


CONTENTS. 


*  Page. 

Class  studies .  5 

Class  exercises .  12 

Exercise  1.  Selection  of  seed  corn .  12 

Exercise  2.  Judging  corn .  13 

Exercise  3.  How  to  test  seed  corn  in  school .  14 

Exercise  4.  Selecting  exhibition  com . 20 

Exercise  5.  Cultivation  of  corn .  21 

Exercise  6.  Simple  corn  breeding .  26 

Publications  useful  in  corn  study .  27 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

Fig.  1.  Drawing  of  a  kernel  of  corn,  showing  its  structure  and  composition .  6 

2.  To  show  the  best  depth  at  which  to  plant  corn .  6 

3.  Device  to  determine  the  proper  depth  to  plant  seeds .  7 

4.  Distribution  of  corn  roots,  showing  how  late  deep  cultivation  affects  the 

roots .  9 

5.  A  sand  tray  for  testing  seed  corn .  15 

6.  Ears  of  seed  corn  with  kernels  removed  for  testing .  16 

7.  Sand  tray  showing  corn  seven  days  after  planting .  17 

8.  Sand  tray  showing  corn  twelve  days  after  planting .  18 

9.  A  poorly  selected  corn  exhibit .  22 

10.  A  well-selected  exhibit .  23 

11.  A  poorly  arranged  exhibit .  24 

12.  The  same  exhibit  properly  arranged .  25 

409 

4 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


For  a  considerable  number  of  years  more  attention  has  been 
given  by  farmers  to  the  production  and  improvement  of  corn  than 
to  any  other  grain  or  general  farm  crop.  It  has  not  so  generally 
had  the  attention  of  teachers  and  pupils  in  the  schools.  With  the 
rapid  spread  of  experimental  corn  growing  through  the  work  of 
boys’  and  girls’  agricultural  clubs  the  need  of  such  study  in  the 
schools  has  come  to  be  better  appreciated.  The  design  of  this  bul¬ 
letin  is  to  furnish  suggestions  for  developing  the  real  educational 
value  of  this  study  and  establishing  some  of  its  connections  with 
arithmetic,  botany,  and  other  school  subjects. 

At  the  outset  a  general  acquaintance  with  the  corn  plant  is  desir¬ 
able.  Many  a  boy  and  girl — and  teachers,  too — have  dwelt  in  the 
presence  of  cornfields  for  a  considerable  part  of  their  lives  with¬ 
out  appreciating  the  many  features  of  interest  which  the  structure 
and  functions  of  this  plant  have  to  offer  to  the  inquisitive  student. 
In  order  to  discover  some  of  these,  the  following  topics  and  questions 
are  suggested: 

CLASS  STUDIES. 

1.  The  kinds  of  corn. — What  kinds  of  corn  have  you  seen?  Get 
an  ear  of  as  many  of  the  following  kinds  as  you  can:  Flint,  pop, 
sweet,  and  dent  corn.  How  do  they  differ?  Do  their  names  prop¬ 
erly  describe  them  ?  Which  is  hardest  ?  Which  pops  most  readily  ? 
Is  there  any  relation  between  the  hardness  and  the  popping?  What 
is  each  kind  mostly  used  for?  How  many  kinds  are  grown  in  your 
school  district?  If  any  kind  is  not  grown,  try  to  find  out  why. 
Does  corn  require  a  warmer  or  a  cooler  climate  than  wheat  ?  Which 
is  more  widely  grown  in  the  United  States?  Which  produces  the 
larger  annual  crop  ? 

2.  Location  of  color  in  the  kernels. — Get  an  ear  of  u calico”  or  red 
corn  and  one  of  yellow  corn.  Remove  the  outer  skin  from  kernels  of 
each.  Where  is  the  color  found  in  each  ? 

3.  Number  of  rows,  kernels,  etc. — Get  ears  of  as  many  kinds  oi 
corn  as  you  can.  How  many  rows  on  an  ear?  Is  the  number  even 
or  odd?  Do  all  kinds  have  the  same  number?  How  many  kernels 

5 


409 


6 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


are  there  on  an  ear?  (Count  the  number  of  kernels  in  one  row  of 
each  kind  and  multiply  by  the  number  of  rows.) 

4.  The  embryo  and  its  food. — Have  each  pupil  supplied  with  ker¬ 
nels  of  corn.  What  differences  in  the  two  sides  of  the  kernel  ?  The 
young  plantlet  or  embryo  lies  in  the  long  depression.  It  is  covered 
by  the  seed  coats. 

Examine  some  kernels  that  have  been  soaked  in  water  for  a  day. 
Notice  how  the  depression  has  filled  up.  Cut  off  the  small  end  of 


•t~  - 


Crown 

Starch 


Horny 

Starch 

Horny 

Gluten 


Embryo). 
Stem  j 

Embryo 
Boob 


Fig.  1. — Drawing  of  a  kernel  of  corn,  showing  its  structure  and 
composition.  (From  Illinois  Station  Bulletin  87.) 


Fig.  2. — To  show  the  best 
depth  at  which  to  plant 
corn. 


the  kernel.  Notice  the  triangular  part  under  the  skin  on  the  side 
where  the  depression  was.  This  is  the  chit,  germ,  or  embryo  (see 
fig.  1).  It  is  the  young  plant.  The  remainder  of  the  kernel,  except 
the  seed  coats,  is  called  the  endosperm.  This  contains  the  starch 
that  is  to  feed  the  young  corn  plant.  Look  in  the  embryo  for  a 
circular  part  about  the  diameter  of  a  pin  head.  This  is  either  the 
leaf  or  root,  according  to  how  much  of  the  kernel  was  cut  off.  Make 

409 


school  lessons  on  corn. 


7 

&  drawing  of  the  cross  section  of  the  end  of  the  kernel  and  indicate 
the  parts. 

Now  take  another  soaked  kernel,  place  it  on  the  table  with  the 
embryo  upward,  and  then  split  the  kernel  lengthwise  through  the 
embryo  with  a  sharp  knife.  Within  the  embryo  find  the  young 
leaves  and  the  root.  Make  a  drawing  of  the  split  kernel  and  indi¬ 
cate  the  embryo,  leaves,  root,  and  endosperm. 

Carefully  remove  the  endosperm  from  several  embryos  of  soaked 
kernels.  From  other  kernels  remove  the  embryos.  Test  these  in 
damp  cotton  or  clean  sand  to  see  which  will  sprout.  Do  those  that 
sprout  grow  well  ?  What  is  the  starch  for  ?  What  is  the  use  of  the 


Fig.  3.— Device  to  determine  the  proper  depth  to  plant  seeds.  (From  Farmers’  Bull.  218.) 


embryo  ?  About  what  proportion  of  the  kernel  is  embryo  ?  What 
proportion  is  endosperm  or  food  ? 

5.  Depth  to  plant. — Plant  kernels  of  corn,  wheat,  and  other  seeds 
in  a  window  box  or  in  the  school  yard  at  depths  of  1,  2,  3,  6,  and  8 
inches,  and  see  what  proportion  comes  up  in  each  case.  Which 
make  the  better  plants  ?  What  do  you  conclude  as  to  the  best 
depth  to  plant  each  ?  Would  this  depth  be  the  same  for  a  sandy 
soil  as  for  a  clay  soil  ?  Plow  does  the  proper  depth  vary  with  the 
size  of  the  seed  ?  a 

a  By  planting  corn  in  a  tall  bottle  (fig.  2)  or  a  box  with  glass  sides,  as  shown  in 
figure  3,  one  can  find  the  best  depth  for  planting  and  at  the  same  time  watch  the  progress 
of  the  young  plants.  Keep  the  bottle  or  box  wrapped  in  black  cloth  or  paper  to 
exclude  the  light  when  not  examining  the  plants. 

409 


8 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


Plant  corn  and  many  other  seeds,  such  as  the  radish,  pea,  bean, 
beet,  and  squash,  at  home  or  in  the  school  garden.  Compare  the 
ways  in  which  they  come  up.  Which  ones  bring  the  entire  seed 
above  ground  ?  Which  ones  leave  it  below  ground  ?  Which  ones 
come  up  arched?  Which  grow  faster  at  first — those  that  grow 
from  large  or  from  small  seeds?  Do  those  that  grow  most  rapidly 
at  first  make  the  largest  plants  ? 

6.  When  and  how  to  plant  field  corn. — At  what  time  do  the  best 
farmers  in  your  school  district  plant  their  cornfields  ?  What  is 
the  old  Indian  rule?  Why  do  the  farmers  not  plant  earlier ?  Why 
do  they  wish  to  plant  corn  as  early  as  it  is  safe  ? 

Do  most  of  them  plant  in  continuous  drills,  or  in  hills  ?  How  far 
are  the  rows  spaced  apart?  How  far  apart  are  the  hills  in  each  row? 
What  is  a  “check  rower ?”  How  many  kernels  are  planted  in  a 
hill?  How  many  kernels  are  needed  to  plant  an  acre  of  ground? 
How  many  ears  does  that  require  ?  How  many  farmers  in  your 
district  take  their  seed  ears  from  the  corncrib  in  the  spring?  Is 
there  any  certain  way  to  find  whether  they  will  grow  before  plant¬ 
ing  them  in  the  field?  (Seepp.  14 — 20.)  How  many  kernels  in  a 
quart  of  good  shelled  seed  corn?  How  many  quarts  are  needed 
to  plant  an  acre  ?  How  many  bushels  for  40  acres  ?  How  many 
bushels  of  shelled  corn  do  the  best  farmers  in  your  district  raise  on 
an  acre  ?  How  does  this  compare  with  the  best  yields  made  by  the 
boys’  and  girls’  corn  clubs  in  your  State  ? 

7.  The  culture  of  corn. — Is  it  good  for  the  land  to  grow  corn  on 
the  same  field  year  after  year?  Why  not?  What  is  meant  by 
“crop  rotation?”  What  is  a  three-year  rotation?  A  four-year 
rotation  ?  What  is  the  rotation  generally  followed  for  growing  corn 
in  your  district  ?  Is  it  satisfactory  ? 

Directions  for  the  proper  cultivation  of  corn  are  given  in  Farmers’ 
Bulletins  199  and  229  for  the  “corn  belt  States,”  and  in  Farmers’ 
Bulletin  81  for  States  farther  south.  An  outline  plan  for  cultivating 
and  recording  growth  and  yields  in  boys’  corn  club  contests  is  found 
in  Farmers’  Bulletin  385.  Nearly  every  State  also  has  one  or  more 
bulletins  on  this  subject.  These  should  always  be  procured  from 
the  director  of  the  state  experiment  station  and  studied  in  the  class. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  supplies  special  help 
and  instruction  to  corn-club  members  in  the  Southern  States  under 
the  direction  of  the  “Boys’  Demonstration  Work.”  The  “William¬ 
son  method”  of  corn  culture,  used  to  some  extent  in  the  Southern 
States,  is  described  in  Farmers’  Bulletin  28 1,  pages  13  to  16. 
(Another  reference  to  this  bulletin  is  made  on  page  12.)  A  general 
description  of  “Experiment  Station  Work  in  Corn  Culture ”  has  been 

409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN.  9 

published  as  a  reprint  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Office  of 
Experiment  Stations  for  1904. 

8.  A  study  of  growing  corn. — Go  with  the  class  into  a  near-by  field 
of  corn  and  make  some  observations.  Are  the  rows  of  corn  quite 
straight  ?  Is  it  true  that  “more  corn  grows  in  crooked  rows  ?”  Count 
100  hills  in  several  rows.  How  many  hills  have  only  one  stalk? 
Two  ?  Three  or  more  ?  None  ?  What  percentage  of  a  perfect 
“stand”  is  there  in  the  field,  taking  three  stalks  to  the  hill  as  a  base  ? 
Why  is  it  not  higher?  What  percentage  of  a  farmer’s  time  is  lost  in 
plowing,  harrowing,  planting,  cultivating,  cutting,  and  husking  such 
a  field  ?  What  percentage  of  his  horses’  time  is  lost  ?  What  percent- 


Fig.  4. — Distribution  of  corn  roots,  showing  how  late  deep  cultivation  affects  the  roots. 


age  of  the  time  of  his  women  folk  is  lost  in  cooking  for  the  farmer  while 
he  works  in  this  field  ? 

9.  Corn  roots. — Dig  down  around  a  hill  of  corn  and  see  how  near 
the  surface  the  roots  grow.  How  far  do  they  extend  from  the  stalk  ? 
How  deep  could  the  cultivator  go  without  hurting  these  roots  ?  (Fig. 
4.)  Should  manure  and  fertilizers  be  placed  in  a  narrow  furrow 
under  the  corn  row  or  should  they  be  distributed  all  through  the 
upper  6  inches  of  soil  ?  About  the  time  that  the  corn  tassels  come  out 
the  “brace  roots”  appear.  Find  some  of  these  roots.  What  is  their 
use  ? 

10.  The  corn  leaves  and  stalks. — How  are  the  leaves  arranged  on 
the  stalks  ?  What  is  the  position  of  the  ears  with  respect  to  the 
leaves  ?  Notice  that  the  margin  of  the  leaf  is  longer  than  the  middle 
of  the  leaf.  This  makes  the  leaf  wavy.  Would  this  help  to  prevent 
the  wind  from  tearing  the  leaves  ?  Does  the  wind  damage  corn  leaves 

52344°— Bull.  409—10 - 2 


10 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


much  in  your  country?  What  do  the  corn  leaves  do  in  very  dry 
weather?  Is  this  an  advantage  to  the  corn  plant?  How?  Make  a 
cross  section  of  a  corn  leaf  and  find  the  location  of  the  “bulliform 
cells.”  (Consult  a  text-book  of  botany.)  What  are  they  for?  Cut 
across  a  cornstalk.  Notice  the  threads  that  run  through  it.  Where 
are  they  thickest,  in  the  middle  or  near  the  outside  of  the  stalk? 
These  threads  are  woody  bundles  called  fibro-vascular  bundles.  Split 
a  stalk  and  see  if  they  go  the  whole  length  of  it.  Do  they  extend 
into  the  leaf?  Cut  out  about  3  inches  of  a  stalk  between  joints. 
Put  one  end  of  this  in  water  and  blow  through  it.  Through  what 
part  of  the  stalk  does  the  air  go  ?  The  chief  function  of  the  fibro- 
vascular  bundles  is  to  conduct  the  sap  up  and  the  digested  food  down 
in  the  plant.  They  extend  into  the  leaves  and  become  the  veins, 
and  thus  help  to  make  up  the  leaf  framework. 

The  joints  of  the  cornstalk  are  called  “nodes”  and  the  spaces 
between  them  are  called  “internodes.”  If  a  stalk  of  corn  is  broken 
down,  at  what  point  does  it  begin  to  straighten  up  again?  Is  the 
node  then  of  the  same  length  all  around  ?  Which  side  of  the  inter¬ 
nodes  is  flattened  or  channeled  ?  Is  it  the  same  side  all  the  way  up  ? 
What  other  crop  plants  have  nodes  and  internodes  like  corn  ?  Is 
corn  a  grass  plant?  Is  wheat?  Flax?  Clover? 

11.  Corn  flowers. — Does  the  corn  have  flowers  like  wheat? 

Where  are  the  stamens  in  corn?  Where  are  the  pistils?  What  is 

the  yellow  powder  that  one  sees  on  the  ground  just  as  the  silks 
begin  to  show  ?  Why  so  much  of  it  ?  Why  is  dry  weather  particu¬ 
larly  bad  for  corn  at  this  time  ?  When  a  cornstalk  grows  in  a  place  by 
itself  what  kind  of  an  ear  does  it  have  ?  Why  is  this  ?  Open  an  ear 
of  corn  that  has  just  “silked  out.”  Follow  the  threads  of  silk. 
Where  are  they  attached  to  the  kernels? 

(The  corn  stamens  are  borne  in  the  tassel.  The  silks  and  the  ker¬ 
nels  to  which  they  are  attached  are  the  pistils.  The  pollen  must  fall 
or  be  blown  from  the  tassel  to  the  silk  in  order  to  fertilize  the  kernel 
and  make  it  develop.  There  must  be  a  great  abundance  of  pollen, 
because  so  much  is  lost.  Each  silk  extends  to  one  kernel  only.) 

12.  Corn  ears.— On  which  side  of  the  internode  is  the  ear  always 
found?  Is  a  leaf  sheath  always  found  on  the  other  side  of  the  ear? 
Suppose  the  ear  were  borne  on  the  end  of  a  long  branch  with  leaves 
arranged  just  as  they  are  on  the  stalk.  Now,  if  you  could  1  ‘  telescope  ” 
this  branch  from  tip  to  base  so  that  it  would  be  only  an  inch  long, 
would  the  leaves  then  have  the  place  of  husks  around  the  ear  ?  Are 
the  husks  corn  leaves  ?  What  is  the  short  branch  that  bears  the  ear 
called  ?  How  does  it  come  to  be  so  short  ?  Could  it  hold  a  large  ear 
up  off  the  ground  if  it  were  very  long  ?  Is  it  better  to  have  the  shank 

409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  COEN. 


11 


hold  the  ear  upright  or  allow  the  tip  to  hang  down  a  little  ?  Why  ? 
What  is  the  advantage  in  having  the  tassel  at  the  top  of  the  stalk? 
Which  would  be  the  better  kind  of  corn  to  cultivate — the  sort  we  have 
now  or  one  with  long  stalks  and  branches,  and  with  both  stamens 
and  pistils  at  the  ends?  Did  our  present  type  of  corn  plant  result 
from  cultivation?  Do  we  sometimes  still  find  a  few  kernels  in  the 
tassels,  or  parts  of  the  tassel  attached  to  the  ear?  (Have  such 
specimens  collected  at  husking  time  and  brought  to  the  school.) 
Are  they  the  best  kind  of  corn  to  plant  ?  (Try  it  and  see.) 

13.  Corn  pests. — Find  out  from  the  farmers  in  the  district  whether 
corn  has  any  serious  pests,  such  as  birds,  insects,  or  diseases.  If  the 
farmers  are  troubled  with  any  of  these,  get  from  the  publications  of 
this  Department  and  the  state  experiment  station  and  from  text¬ 
books  all  the  information  you  can  on  the  particular  pests.  Also,  if 
possible,  get  specimens  of  any  troublesome  insect  or  fungus  pests. 
Study  the  whole  subject  and  have  at  least  one  recitation  on  it. 

Below  are  some  of  the  publications  of  this  Department  concerning 
pests  of  corn:  Farmers’  Bulletins,  No.  54  (pages  18-23,  The  blue  jay 
and  the  crow,  and  29,  30,  The  crow  blackbird),  No.  28  (pages  24-30, 
Table  of  100  weeds;  study  those  affecting  hoed  crops),  No.  69 
(pages  18-20,  Corn  smut),  and  No.  259  (pages  20,  21,  Cultural  meth¬ 
ods  of  controlling  corn  billbugs  and  the  corn  root-louse).  Circulars 
of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology,  No.  16  (3  pages,  The  larger  cornstalk 
borer),  No.  59  (8  pages,  The  corn  root- worms),  and  No.  78  (6  pages, 
The  slender  seed-corn  ground  beetle) . 

14.  Gathering  and  storing  seed  corn. — Have  the  pupils  study  and 
recite  on  Farmers’  Bulletin  229,  pages  21,  22,  and  23.  Compare  the 
methods  outlined  in  the  bulletin  with  those  in  practice  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  school.  What  advantages  for  the  various  methods  are 
apparent  ? 

15.  The  feeding  value  of  corn. — Is  most  of  the  corn  in  your  State 
fed  or  shipped  ?  Which  is  cheaper,  to  ship  the  corn  or  to  ship  an 
animal  that  was  fed  on  it  ?  About  how  many  bushels  of  corn  are 
required  to  feed  a  250-pound  hog?  How  much  would  it  cost  to  ship 
the  corn  to  the  nearest  large  stock  market — Chicago,  Omaha,  Kansas 
City,  Buffalo?  To  ship  the  hog? 

When  you  sell  $10  worth  of  corn  from  the  farm  you  sell  $3.78  worth 
of  fertilizer;  when  you  sell  $10  worth  of  cattle  you  sell  $1.18  worth  of 
fertilizer.  Which  would  be  more  profitable,  to  sell  corn  or  to  feed  it 
to  cattle  and  sell  the  cattle  ?  Which  method  of  farming  would  keep 
the  land  in  good  condition  longer  ? 

In  addition  to  its  value  as  feed  for  stock,  corn  supplies  food  for 
more  people  than  any  other  cereal  except,  perhaps,  rice.  In  what 
ways  is  it  used  as  a  food  ?  What  products  are  manufactured  from 

409 


12 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


corn?  What  ones  have  you  seen?  What  samples  of  them  do  you 
have  in  your  school  museum  ? 

Have  the  pupils  study  and  recite  on  Farmers’  Bulletins  56,  pages  4 
and  7-9;  65,  page  6;  97,  pages  9-12;  122,  pages  26,  27.  All  these 
deal  with  some  phase  of  feeding  corn  to  farm  animals.  The  girls  in 
the  class  will  be  interested  in  studying  the  value  of  corn  as  a  food  for 
human  beings.  This  is.  treated  in  Farmers’  Bulletins,  249,  281, 
pages  18-22,  and  298. 

16.  Importance  of  the  corn  crop. — The  corn  crop  of  the  United 
States  during  the  last  five  years  has  been  more  than  2,500,000,000 
bushels  a  year.  How  much  is  that  per  capita,  i.  e.,  for  each  person 
in  the  United  States  ?  This  crop  is  worth  about  twice  as  much  as 
any  other  crop.  During  the  five  years  from  1903  to  1907  the  average 
corn  crop  of  the  world  was  3,360,485,200  bushels.  That  grown  in 
North  America  averaged  2,693,237,000  bushels.  What  percentage  of 
the  total  world  crop  did  North  America  grow?  Why  is  such  a  large 
part  of  the  world’s  corn  crop  grown  here ?  Is  it  due  to  the  soil?  To 
the  climate  ?  What  part  of  the  United  States  is  the  best  corn  region  ? 
What  States  are  included  in  it  ?  Why  is  this  the  best  region  ? 

How  much  corn  was  grown  in  your  State  last  year?  What  is  the 
relative  rank  of  your  State  in  total  corn  production?  In  yield  per 
acre  ?  (See  Statistics  of  Agricultural  Products  in  the  Yearbook  of 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  If  your  school  does  not  have 
the  latest  copy,  apply  for  one  to  your  Member  of  Congress.) 

17.  History  of  corn. — What  is  meant  by  “corn”  in  the  Bible?  Of 
what  country  is  corn  a  native?  What  other  important  plants  are 
native  to  the  Western  Hemisphere  ?  Look  up  the  common  crops — 
wheat,  cotton,  potatoes,  tomatoes,  timothy,  clover,  and  others,  in 
the  dictionary  or  cyclopedia  to  see  of  what  country  they  are  native. 
What  people  first  grew  corn  in  this  country?  What  part  did  corn 
play  in  the  early  history  of  New  England  ?  Of  the  Middle  West  ? 
(Consult  encyclopedias,  text-books  of  history,  and  one  or  more  of  the 
books  listed  on  page  27.) 

CLASS  EXERCISES. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  questions  and  suggestions,  a  number 
of  more  formal  class  exercises  in  the  study  and  handling  of  corn  are 
offered  in  the  following  paragraphs. 

EXERCISE  1.— SELECTION  OF  SEED  CORN. 

Have  five  or  more  pupils  bring  10  ears  each  of  the  best  corn  they 
can  find  at  home.  It  would  be  better  if  all  could  bring  the  same  kind 
of  corn.  Before  pupils  attempt  to  select  the  most  desirable  ears  for 

409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


13 


seed  have  them  read  pages  8  and  9  of  Farmers’  Bulletin  229  or  one  of 
their  state  experiment  station  bulletins  on  corn  selection  or  judging. 
Then  have  the  pupils  select  20  or  30  of  the  best-looking  ears  for  use 
in  the  next  exercise. 

EXERCISE  2.— JUDGING  CORN. 

Number  all  of  the  ears  from  1  to  20,  or  1  to  30,  as  the  case  may  be, 
by  tying  to  each  a  small  numbered  tag  or  sticking  a  numbered  peg 
into  the  butt  of  each  cob.  Have  each  pupil  provide  himself  with  a 
score  card  ruled  as  shown  below,  providing  one  column  for  each  ear 
of  corn.  The  figures  in  the  score  card  just  to  the  left  of  the  first  per¬ 
pendicular  line  show  the  number  of  11  points”  that  should  be  given  for 
a  perfect  ear;  e.  g.,  if  the  pupil  thinks  ear  No.  4  is  nearly  perfect  in 
shape  he  would  probably  mark  9  in  line  2,  column  4,  as  shown  in  the 
table.  Each  pupil  should  examine  carefully  each  ear  of  corn  and  put 
down  on  his  score  card  in  the  column  of  the  same  number  as  the  ear 
of  corn  his  estimate  of  the  qualities  named  on  each  line  at  the  left, 
except  line  4 — vitality — which  should  not  be  filled  in  until  after  the 
seed  is  tested  by  the  method  explained  on  pages  14  to  20. 

Then  compute  the  germinating  value  of  the  different  samples  on 
the  basis  of  20  for  a  perfect  ear,  as  shown  in  the  score  card,  and  give 
each  ear  its  proper  rating  in  line  4  of  the  score  card.  Now  add  up  the 
different  columns  of  figures  in  the  score  card,  and  by  means  of  the 
totals  select  the  best  five  ears. 


Score  card  for  corn. 


Points. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

1.  Trueness  to  type .  10 

2.  Shape  of  ear. .  ? .  10 

9 

3.  Purity  of  color  in  grain  and  cob .  5 

4.  Vitality,  maturity,  germinating  power .  20 

5.  Tips  of  ears .  5 

6.  Butts  of  ears .  5 

7.  Uniformity  of  kernels .  5 

8.  Shape  of  kernels .  5 

9.  Length  of  ear .  5 

10.  Circumference  of  ear  .  5 

11.  Furrows  between  rows  .  5 

12.  Space  between  kernels  at  cob  ...  10 

13.  Proportion  of  corn  to  cob  .  10 

Total  .  .  100 

In  order  to  understand  the  meaning  of  all  the  points  listed  in  this 
score  card,  it  is  well  to  write  to  your  state  agricultural  college  or 
experiment  station,  or  to  the  state  corn  breeders’  association,  if  there 
is  one,  for  an  explanation  of  the  official  score  card  used  in  your  State. 
Or  it  may  be  possible  to  get  some  one  from  the  agricultural  college  or 
other  agricultural  school  to  come  to  your  school  or  county  teachers’ 
meeting  and  explain  the  score  card  fully. 

400 


14 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


EXERCISE  3.— HOW  TO  TEST  SEED  CORN  IN  SCHOOL  a 

There  are  at  least  three  reasons  why  teachers,  especially  in  the  rural 
districts,  should  be  interested  in  seed-corn  testing  as  a  school  exer¬ 
cise:  (1)  It  furnishes  an  easy  and  interesting  study  in  seed  germina¬ 
tion  and  plant  growth;  (2)  the  extended  use  of  a  good  method  has 
vast  economic  value  in  improving  the  productiveness  of  American 
agriculture,  and  (3)  the  teaching  of  it  in  the  rural  school  exerts  a 
strong  influence  toward  increasing  the  confidence  of  parents  in  the 
permanent  worth  of  good  school  work.  The  teacher  whose  work  is 
supported  by  such  a  sentiment  in  the  community  has  her  powers  of 
usefulness  increased  many-fold  in  comparison  with  one  who  is  indif¬ 
ferent  to  the  home  interests  of  her  pupils  and  their  parents.  The 
teacher  who  once  begins  intelligently  to  try  some  simple  exercises  in 
agricultural  nature  study  will  not  be  long  left  in  doubt  as  to  the 
responsive  interest  which  she  can  awaken  in  any  kind  of  productive 
school  work.  Children  love  to  do  things — especially  things  that  are 
obviously  useful;  they  need  only  judicious  direction  in  order  to  turn 
this  instinct  into  various  forms  of  continuous  self-education — which 
is  the  only  kind  that  “sticks.” 

It  has  come  to  be  true  that  almost  every  farmer  and  rural  school¬ 
boy  now  understands  the  importance  of  testing  seed  corn  before 
planting — and  testing  it  in  the  ear  rather  than  after  shelling.  But 
many  farmers  fail  to  do  as  well  as  they  know  in  this  matter,  because 
they  regard  many  of  the  methods  that  have  been  recommended  for 
testing  seed  corn  as  “too  much  trouble.”  The  plan  that  is  here 
described  is  simple  enough  to  be  easily  followed  by  any  boy  or  girl  in 
the  public  schools,* * * 6  and  it  costs  very  little. 

The  only  materials  needed  are  a  shallow  wooden  tray,  a  small 
handful  of  carpet  tacks,  a  few  yards  of  wrapping  twine,  sand  enough 
to  fill  the  tray,  and  three  or  four  quarts  of  water.  The  tray  (or 
several  of  them)  can  easily  be  sawed  from  an  empty  soap  or  cracker 
box.  When  finished,  it  should  be  about  1J  inches  deep  inside,  15 
inches  wide,  and  23  inches  long;  but  any  of  these  dimensions  may  be 
varied  slightly.  This  tray  is  divided  into  small  squares  by  a  checker¬ 
board  lacing  of  twine  across  the  top.  It  is  convenient  to  have  these 
squares  about  1J  inches  on  a  side,  ten  of  them  in  a  row  across  the 
narrow  way  of  the  tray  and  fifteen  the  other  way. 

Figure  5  shows  the  general  appearance  of  such  a  tray  and  the 
method  of  lacing  the  twine  back  and  forth  across  the  tray  and  under 

a  This  exercise  is  a  reprint  of  Circular  96,  prepared  in  the  Agricultural  Education 

Service  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  by  F.  W.  Howe.  It  is  believed  that 

the  importance  of  testing  seed  corn  justifies  the  extent  of  space  devoted  to  this  topic. 

6  So  far  as  can  be  learned,  the  essentials  of  this  plan  were  first  developed  by  Prof. 
J.  A.  Jeffery,  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College. 

409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


15 


the  tacks.  This  lacing  with  the  string  should  not  be  done  until  the 
tray  has  been  loosely  filled  with  dry  sand,  heaped  up  a  little  above  its 
top  edge.  Then  the  sand  should  be  scraped  off  with  a  yardstick,  or 
other  straightedge,  even  with  the  top  of  the  tray.  After  lacing  with 
the  string,  the  tray  is  then  ready  for  planting. 

Have  the  children  arrange  the  ears  to  be  tested  in  rows  of  ten,  to 
correspond  with  the  rows  of  squares  across  the  tray.  These  rows  of 
ears  should  be  kept  in  a  dry,  warm  place  on  the  floor,  on  corn  racks, 
or  on  shelves,  where  it  can  be  certain  that  they  will  not  be  disturbed 
or  displaced  until  the  test  is  finished.  A  nail  is  sometimes  driven  into 
the  shelf  or  floor  at  each  end  of  a  row  of  ten  ears  to  keep  them  in 
place. 

When  ready  to  begin  the  test,  two  children  can  work  to  the  best 
advantage,  one  to  handle  the  individual  ears  and  the  other  to  plant 
the  tray.  The  first  takes  up  ear  No.  1  in  the  first  row,  and,  with  the 


point  of  a  pocketknife  applied  to  the  edge  of  a  kernel,  removes  five 
kernels  from  each  ear,  passes  them  to  the  second  pupil,  and  carefully 
replaces  the  ear  in  its  row.  The  kernels  should  be  taken  in  succes¬ 
sion  (taking  only  those  of  average  size)  from  about  an  inch  above  the 
base  of  the  ear  to  the  same  distance  below  its  tip,  passing  spirally 
around  and  lengthwise  of  the  ear.  This  insures  a  fair  test  of  the 
whole  ear,  as  it  sometimes  happens  that  one  side  or  one  end  of  an  ear 
is  sound,  while  the  other  will  not  grow.  Figure  6  shows  a  few  ears 
with  kernels  removed  in  this  spiral  fashion. 

The  second  pupil  plants  each  five  kernels  in  the  square  which 
corresponds  with  the  ear  from  which  they  were  taken.  Each  of  the 
first  four  kernels  is  set  in  one  corner  of  the  square;  point  downward, 
and  pushed  down  just  far  enough  to  be  covered  by  the  dry  sand  when 
the  forefinger  is  withdrawn.  The  fifth  kernel  is  planted  in  the  center 
of  the  square,  and  all  should  have  a  uniform  depth  below  the  surface 

409 


16 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN 


409 


Fig.  0.— Ears  of  seed  corn  with  kernels  removed  for  testing 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN.  17 

of  the  sand.  Figure  5  shows  the  first  three  squares  planted  in  each 
of  the  fifteen  rows. 

Two  pupils  working  together  can  plant  at  least  one  square  a  min¬ 
ute,  and  much  faster  with  a  little  practice.  But  it  is  important  to 
do  the  work  carefully  and  treat  all  the  kernels  alike,  so  that  the  test 
may  be  scientifically  exact.  This  is  why  dry  sand,  or  some  other 
earth  of  uniform  quality  and  free  from  foreign  substances,  is  recom¬ 
mended  for  filling  the  tray.  The  same  sand  should  not  be  used  twice 
unless  baked  and  carefully  sifted  before  the  second  planting. 

When  a  tray  has  been  planted  it  must  be  thoroughly  watered  and 
kept  in  a  warm  room  (perhaps  on  the  warming  oven  of  the  kitchen 
range  at  home  or  on  a  shelf  above  the  schoolroom  stove),  where  it 
will  not  be  upset  or  disturbed  until  the  test  is  finished.  The  watering 
is  best  done  by  laying  a  small  piece  of  paper  flat  on  the  tray  and 
pouring  the  water  carefully  on  this  until  the  sand  is  fully  saturated. 


Fig.  7. — Sand  tray  showing  corn  seven  days  after  planting. 

(There  is  a  reason  for  using  the  paper.)  The  planted  tray  should  not 
be  allowed  to  dry  out  until  the  young  corn  plants  are  an  inch  or  two 
above  the  sand.  Sometimes  the  corn  roots  are  stiff  enough  to  push 
the  kernels  up  out  of  the  sand.  When  this  happens  they  should  be 
covered  again  by  sprinkling  some  damp  sand  on  them. 

This  method  of  germinating  seed  corn  has  been  carefully  tested  foi 
a  long  term  of  years.  It  is  one  of  the  best  plans  to  use  in  schools 
because  the  necessary  materials  can  be  easily  procured,  the. gei rui¬ 
nating  seed  does  not  need  to  be  uncovered  or  disturbed  duiing  the 
test,  and  the  conditions  are  artificial  only  to  the  extent  of  treating. all 
kernels  alike,  which  is  necessary  to  secure  reliable  results.  Testing 
in  soil  is  much  the  most  natural  method  of  determining  the  pioba 
bilities  of  growth  in  the  field. 

Figures  7  and  8  show  the  progressive  growth  of  corn  plants  in  the 
tray  at  the  end  of  successive  periods.  It  is  best  to  make  the  final 

4G9 


18 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 

examination  of  the  plants  at  some  point  between  the  stages  shown  in 
these  two  views,  as  the  latter  is  a  little  too  far  advanced  to  permit 
doing  the  work  easily.  The  plants  should  be  about  2  or  3  inches 
high.  Begin  at  square  No.  1  and  carefully  examine  each  square  in 
regular  order  through  to  the  last.  If  you  find  five  good,  sturdy 
plants  growing  from  the  five  kernels  planted  in  a  square,  the  ear 
from  which  they  came  is  all  right  for  planting  in  the  field.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  pull  these  plants  up  or  to  examine  the  roots;  you  can 
be  sure  that  the  roots  are  all  right  if  the  plants  are  satisfactory. 

If  there  are  five  plants  in  the  square,  but  two  or  more  of  them  are 
shorter  than  most  of  the  others  in  the  tray,  or  look  pale  and  sickly, 
take  at  once  the  ear  from  which  they  came  out  of  its  row  and  do  not 
let  it  get  mixed  with  those  that  are  to  be  shelled  for  planting  in  the 
field. 


Fig.  8.— Sand  tray  showing  corn  twelve  days  after  planting. 

If  there  are  four  good  plants  in  the  square,  but  the  fifth  one  is 
smaller  or  can  not  be  seen  at  all,  dig  down  carefully  until  you  find 
whether  the  kernel  germinated.  Sometimes  the  plumule  (young 
stalk)  is  held  at  the  tip  by  the  tough  skin  or  hull  of  the  kernel  until 
it  is  bent  over  and  starts  to  grow  horizontally  or  downward  under  the 
sand.  Such  a  stalk  may  not  yet  have  its  head  out  in  the  air  when 
the  tray  is  examined,  and  so  may  be  pale  and  weak  from  lack  of 
breath  and  sunlight.  That  would  not  show  any  positive  fault  in  the 
ear  from  which  it  came  and  would  not  be  a  sufficient  cause  for  dis¬ 
carding  the  ear. 

If  one  kernel  out  of  the  five  has  not  begun  to  grow  at  all,  while  the 
rest  from  the  same  ear  are  an  inch  or  two  above  the  sand,  it  will  not  be 
safe  to  plant  that  ear.  Do  not  save  any  ear  for  seed  after  the  test 
unless  you  feel  sure  that  every  kernel  planted  in  the  field  is  likely  to 
grow.  Every  poor  ear  planted  spoils  about  one-fifteenth  part  of  an 
acre  in  the  cornfield — and  yet  some  farmers  would  ‘‘blame  it  on”  the 

409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


10 


crows,  or  the  weather,  or  something  else  which  they  could  not  help; 
but  they  could  be  sure  of  planting  seed  that  they  Icnow  has  shown 
itself  able  to  grow.  Occasionally  some  farmers  still  make  the  mistake 
of  first  shelling  all  their  seed  corn  (or  buying  shelled  corn  for  seed) 
and  then  testing  a  hundred  kernels  of  it.  If  there  is  one  bad  ear  in 
the  lot  that  was  shelled,  its  kernels  are  then  mixed  with  all  the  rest, 
and  there  is  no  way  to  discover  or  remove  them.  The  ear  holds  them 
all  together  until  it  can  be  determined  whether  they  will  grow. 

Until  the  test  is  finished,  it  is  very  important  to  keep  the  ears  in 
place,  so  that  the  one  corresponding  to  any  square  in  the  tray  can  be 
picked  out  at  once.  If  the  ears  are  not  laid  in  rows  of  ten,  they 
must  be  numbered  in  some  other  way.  The  number  of  any  square  is 
easily  known  by  referring  to  the  way  the  tray  is  numbered  in  figure 
1.  Thus  square  66  is  the  sixth  square  in  the  row  numbered  6;  and 
the  number  of  any  square  in  the  tray  is  determined  by  this  simple 
rule:  Consider  the  number  marked  at  the  left  end  of  any  row  as  tews, 
and  add  to  this  the  unit  number  representing  the  given  square  (shown 
in  fig.  1  at  the  right-hand  end  of  the  tray).  Note  whether  squares 
115  and  150  are  correctly  numbered  according  to  this  rule.  If  the 
corresponding  ears  are  arranged  in  fifteen  rows  (calling  the  first  row 
zero),  the  number  of  any  ear  can  be  found  in  the  same  way.  If  this 
plan  is  not  followed,  each  ear  should  be  tagged  and  numbered  in  con¬ 
secutive  order.  Fifteen  ears  of  good  size  will  plant  an  acre  of  corn, 
three  kernels  to  the  hill. 

(How  many  kernels  must  there  be  on  each  ear  ?) 

Good  care  must  be  taken  of  the  seed  corn  after  it  is  tested,  and  the 
testing  would  better  not  be  done  more  than  two  or  three  weeks  before 
planting  in  the  field.  Through  lack  of  care  a  lot  of  good  seed  corn 
can  be  spoiled  in  three  weeks— or  even  three  days— by  wetting  and 
molding  or  by  freezing.  Before  shelling  the  tested  ears  it  is  con¬ 
sidered  best  to  remove  the  small  or  irregular  kernels  for  upward  of 
an  inch  from  each  end  of  the  ear  (note  the  last  ear  in  fig.  6),  as 
these  kernels  do  not  usually  germinate  and  grow  at  the  same  rate 
as  those  in  the  middle  of  the  ear,  and  their  irregular  size  also  prevents 
uniform  dropping  in  the  planter.  All  the  remaining  kernels  on  the 
tested  ears  can  then  be  shelled  together,  and  it  is  best  to  mix  them 
thoroughly  afterwards,  unless  you  wish  to  select  a  few  of  the  best 
unshelled  ears  to  start  a  “ breeding  plat/’  such  as  that  outlined  on 
page  26. 

The  corn-testing  method  here  described  can  be  easily  carried  out  in 
the  ordinary  schoolroom  if  the  temperature  is  not  allowed  to  go  below 
50°  F.  If  there  should  be  any  danger  of  freezing,  the  planted  tray 
can  be  taken  to  a  near-by  pupil’s  home,  kept  there  until  the  plants 
are  large  enough  for  final  examination,  and  then  brought  back  to  the 

409 


20 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


school  carefully  covered  with  a  blanket  that  will  not  crush  the  young 
stalks.  It  is  well  to  have  at  least  one  tray  tested  by  the  school  so  that 
all  the  children  can  see  and  understand  the  entire  process.  Then 
as  many  as  can  should  be  encouraged  to  test  at  home  the  corn  which 
their  fathers  expect  to  plant.  Where  this  can  not  be  done  at  home, 
some  schools  have  offered  to  do  the  testing  for  farmers;  but  this 
requires  that  the  ears  to  be  tested  shall  be  carefully  numbered,  or 
arranged  in  rows  of  ten,  and  that  five  kernels  from  each  shall  be 
brought  to  the  school  in  little  envelopes  or  packets  numbered  to  cor¬ 
respond  with  the  ears.  When  the  test  is  finished,  the  numbers  of  the 
poor  ears  must  be  carefully  recorded  for  reporting  back  to  the  farmer 
from  whom  the  seed  came. 

It  makes  a  good  experiment  for  the  school  garden  to  plant  some 
of  the  ears  which  show  poorly  in  the  schooFs  testing  tray,  and  see 
whether  they  will  do  any  better  under  outdoor  conditions.  In  con¬ 
trast  to  this,  some  of  the  best  ears  can  be  planted  in  a  school  u  breed¬ 
ing  plat,”  as  suggested  in  Exercise  6,  page  26.  The  work  of  the 
school  may  thus  become  the  means  of  greatly  improving  the  quality 
and  yield  of  corn  throughout  the  whole  district. 

EXERCISE  4.— SELECTING  EXHIBITION  CORN. 

It  lias  become  quite  common  to  have  local,  county,  and  State  corn 
shows,  with  all  or  a  part  of  the  exhibits  offered  by  pupils  in  the  public 
schools. 

The  exhibit  from  one  person  usually  consists  of  five  or  ten  ears  of 
corn.  Sometimes  a  ten-ear  exhibit  to  represent  the  entire  local 
school  is  made  up  by  selecting  that  number  of  ears  from  the  best  ones 
brought  in  by  all  the  members  of  the  school. 

One  very  important  thing  to  observe  in  choosing  and  arranging  all 
such  exhibits  is  the  principle  of  uniformity.  This  is  sometimes  indi¬ 
cated  in  score  cards  by  the  phrase  “uniformity  of  exhibit.”  In  the 
score  card  form  shown  on  page  13  it  is  covered  by  “trueness  to 
type”  and  “uniformity  of  kernels.”  These  phrases  all  mean  that 
in  order  to  get  a  high  rating  all  the  ears  in  the  set  must  loole  alike  as 
nearly  as  possible.  A  corn  judge  often  discards  a  set  of  five  or  ten 
ears  from  any  further  consideration  simply  because  the  exhibitor 
included  among  them  one  ear  that  was  an  inch  longer  than  the  rest, 
or  of  a  different  shade  in  color,  or  that  had  a  different  number  of  rows 
of  kernels,  or  kernels  of  noticeably  different  shape  or  size  than  those 
on  the  rest  of  the  ears.  Sometimes  the  size  of  cob  in  one  ear  differs 
from  all  the  others,  or  one  ear  is  crooked  or  has  “twisted”  rows  of 
kernels,  while  all  the  rest  are  straight. 

Any  of  these  defects  spoil  the  uniformity  of  the  set  and  cause  the 
set  to  be  marked  down  severely.  It  is  better  to  select  ten  ears  that 

409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  COEN. 


21 


are  not  the  very  best,  but  are  alike ,  than  to  include  one  ear  that  is 
either  much  better  or  much  worse  than  all  the  rest  in  the  set.  Pick 
out  the  best  40  or  50  ears  you  can  find,  and  then  from  these,  by  careful 
measurement  and  comparison,  select  for  your  exhibit  the  five  or  ten 
that  are  nearest  alike. 

The  unfavorable  impression  made  by  a  poorly  selected  or  poorly 
arranged  exhibit  of  ten  ears  is  clearly  illustrated  in  figures  9  and  11. 
Without  discarding  any  ears  from  the  best  ten  selected  they  can 
always  be  arranged  in  one  best  order,  from  left  to  right,  so  as  to  present 
whatever  excellence  they  have  in  the  most  favorable  view.  (See  figs. 
10  and  12.)  The  corn  judge  may  change  this  order  before  giving  his 
final  verdict,  but  in  any  case  he  will  be  disposed  to  give  the  exhibitor 
credit  for  knowing  the  advantages  of  a  good  arrangement.  Further¬ 
more,  a  good  arrangement  of  the  ears  in  an  exhibit  saves  time  for  the 
judge,  and  that,  too,  is  in  the  exhibitor’s  favor  if  the  judging  must  be 
done  rapidly. 

EXERCISE  5. — CULTIVATION  OF  CORN. 

The  teacher  and  pupils  will  probably  be  able  to  arrange  with  some 
farmer  near  the  school  to  carry  out  the  following  experiment,  sug¬ 
gested  by  M.  L.  Fisher,  of  Purdue  University:® 

Use  a  part  of  the  field  most  convenient  to  work  according  to  the 
plan  given  below. 

Two  rows  3J  feet  apart  and  37J  rods  long,  or  four  rows  18§  rods 
long,  will  make  a  tenth-acre.  It  will  probably  be  more  convenient 
to  use  rows  the  full  length  of  the  field  and  make  calculations  on  that 
basis.  Have  two  or  four  rows  in  the  plat,  according  to  length.  Have 
at  least  one  extra  row  between  plats  and  two  rows  on  the  outside  for 
a  border,  and  discard  these  rows  in  estimating  the  plat  yields. 

(1)  Cultivate  Plat  I  at  least  once  each  week  (if  ground  is  dry 
enough)  from  the  time  the  corn  is  big  enough  until  it  begins  to  tassel. 

(2)  Cultivate  Plat  II  three  times  during  the  season. 

(3)  Do  not  cultivate  Plat  III,  but  keep  down  the  weeds  through¬ 
out  the  season  by  cutting  them  off  at  the  surface  with  a  hoe. 

(4)  Do  not  cut  the  weeds  or  cultivate  Plat  IV  at  all.  The  space 
between  the  border  row  and  other  plats  should  be  treated  like  that 
portion  of  each  plat  next  to  it. 

(5)  Gather  the  stalks  and  ears  on  all  plats  and  weigh  each  sepa¬ 
rately.  Divide  the  corn  into  marketable  and  unmarketable  ears, 
getting  the  weight  of  each.  Gather  all  the  crop,  no  matter  how  poor. 
Don’t  guess  at  the  results.  Calculate  to  an  acre,  basis  and  explain 
results. 


409 


a  Practical  Studies  in  Agriculture  for  Public  Schools. 


22 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


piMplMiiiMip 


tiuTilim1 


n 

1 

m 

Mm 

fury!; 

vlW 

1 1  1  %  I# 

Mi 

m 

a 

ijj]  J 

« - 

u. 

a^Ljiip 

M 

wil 

mmsm 

mBm 

409 


Fig.  9.— A  poorly  selected  corn  exhibit.  The  second  ear  has  a  pronounced  “twist”  in  the  row  of  kernels,  and  the  ninth  ear  has  a  very  p. or  tip. 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN 


23 


409 


Fig.  10. — A  well-selected  exhibit.  The  substitution  of  two  good  ears  for  the  second  and  ninth  of  figure  9  gives  a  satisfactory  degree  of  uniformity  to  the  entiie  set. 


24 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN 


mmm 


(pmiMw  w 


MPMmm 


JIimEmI 


iitMftf  (j)i' Uljh  3/Wi  W# 


Mmrm  tot 


*M*Mn*Wt 


mmMt 


ilimOWIMBlih* 

iiNunmiiiM*' 


409 


Fig.  11. — A  poorly  arranged  exhibit;  decidedly  lacking  in  uniformity  of  appearance. 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN 


25 


plfpro  tIhw  vxJy 
W uiml 

'^YV't' vLTiv  7  *t" Hirtii tY* 


mio 


mmmwMrn 


K'nqwJW 

HmwM 


4# 

4sL 

*fc. 

)i 

1 1 

4 

ti 

* 

* 

Vi 

i 

409 


Fig.  12 _ The  same  exhibit  properly  arranged;  ears  nicely  graduated  as  to  length. 


26 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  COKN. 


EXERCISE  6.— SIMPLE  CORN  BREEDING. 

Nearly  all  methods  of  improving  the  quality  or  yield  of  the  corn 
crop  are  collectively  termed  “corn  breeding  ”  in  agricultural  bulletins. 
Much  improvement  can  be  brought  about  without  any  “crossing”  of 
different  types  of  com  merely  by  selecting  those  ears  that  produce  the 
best  types  and  yields.  The  best  yielding  ears  can  only  be  deter¬ 
mined,  however,  by  planting  them  in  the  field  and  carefully  weighing 
their  products.  If  all  the  kernels  from  a  good  ear  are  planted  beside 
those  from  other  ears  that  may  be  inferior,  the  “mixing”  which 
results  (see  p.  10)  does  not  give  yields  that  are  a  true  indication  of 
what  the  first  ear  might  have  produced  if  planted  by  itself. 

This  explanation  will  make  clear  the  reason  for  certain  precautions 
to  be  followed  in  an  experiment  which  can  be  carried  out  by  almost 
any  rural-school  class  in  agriculture,  working  together  or  individually. 

Select  ten  of  the  best  ears  that  can  be  found  of  a  type  as  nearly 
uniform  as  possible  in  size,  color,  shape  of  kernels,  and  other  features, 
and  which  show  good  germinating  strength  in  the  test  explained  on 
pages  14-20.  Then  select  a  good  plat  of  ground  as  far  as  possible  from 
any  other  field  of  corn,  and  plant  in  it  one  row  of  50  or  100  hills  from 
each  of  the  selected  ears.  The  unplanted  portion  of  each  ear  must  be 
carefully  saved  for  further  use.  This  kind  of  experiment  is  known  as 
the  “ear-to-row  test.” 

The  soil  of  this  plat  should  be  as  uniform  as  possible  in  quality, 
slope,  and  cultivation  throughout  the  season.  At  husking  time  the 
crop  should  be  carefully  weighed,  as  explained  in  the  preceding  exer¬ 
cise.  One  will  probably  be  surprised  at  the  difference  of  yields  shown 
from  different  ears,  even  when  the  utmost  care  has  been  taken  to 
treat  them  all  alike.  This  proves  that  no  one  can  tell  beforehand 
which  of  two  similar  ears  of  corn  will  produce  the  larger  crop;  there 
is  as  much  difference  between  them  as  between  cows  of  the  same  breed 
and  color,  and  no  one  can  tell  definitely  what  the  difference  is  in  any 
case  either  in  cows  or  corn  without  taking  care  to  measure  it. 

Some  of  the  corn  rows  in  your  experimental  plat  may  prove  to  be 
quite  inferior,  so  that  you  will  not  wish  to  save  any  of  their  product 
for  seed.  Others  may  have  shown  so  high  a  yield  that  their  ears  will 
make  much  better  seed  corn  than  you  could  be  sure  of  finding  in  a 
large  cornfield.  These  should  be  carefully  saved  for  next  year’s  field 
crop;  but  you  can  not  be  sure  yet  that  they  are  as  good  seed  as  you 
may  be  able  to  produce. 

Next  year  plant  another  test  plat  with  the  remnants  of  the  seed  ears 
that  were  left  from  planting  the  first  plat,  throwing  away  all  that 
produced  poor  rows  the  first  year.  (This  means  that  they  must  have 
been  permanently  numbered  to  correspond  with  the  rows  planted 

409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


27 


from  them  in  the  first  plat.)  There  may  be  enough  kernels  to  plant 
as  many  hills  and  rows  as  in  the  first  plat,  but  it  is  considered  best 
not  to  plant  two  rows  together  from  the  same  ear;  instead  plant  at 
least  one  row  from  some  other  ear  between  them.  After  planting  all 
the  full  rows  of  the  plat  whatever  kernels  are  left  on  the  several  seed 
ears  can  be  shelled  and  mixed  together.  Use  these  for  planting  a 
border  of  one  or  two  rows  around  the  entire  plat,  but  do  not  count 
these  rows  in  estimating  the  yield  of  the  plat. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  season  weigh  the  crop  as  before  and 
compare  with  yields  from  the  same  seed  in  the  preceding  year  and 
also  with  the  same  number  of  hills  in  the  general  cornfield.  You 
may  find  that  the  poorest  row  in  the  second  plat  produced  better 
than  any  one  row  in  the  field.  It  is  at  least  clear  that  whatever 
mixing  took  place  in  the  second-year  plat  was  from  seed  that  was 
better  than  the  average  of  the  field.  The  study  given  to  these  experi¬ 
ments  may  lead  someone  in  the  class  to  become  a  grower  of  the  best 
seed  corn  in  his  county  or  State. 

Those  who  wish  to  study  the  breeding  of  seed  corn  more  fully  can 
send  for  Farmers’  Bulletin  267  (pp.  5-10)  and  whatever  bulletins 
have  been  published  on  this  subject  by  the  experiment  station  in 
their  own  State.  Bulletin  112  of  the  Nebraska  Experiment  Station, 
at  Lincoln,  is  one  of  the  latest  and  most  complete  station  bulletins 
on  this  subject. 

A  classified  list  of  publications  useful  to  farmers,  teachers,  and 
pupils  in  the  study  of  corn  is  given  under  the  following  heading: 

PUBLICATIONS  USEFUL  IN  CORN  STUDY. 

A  number  of  books  have  appeared  in  recent  years  that  are  of  much 
value  to  schools  and  teachers  that  wish  to  make  a  careful  study  of 
corn.  In  many  cases  it  is  likely  that  farmers  who  have  boys  and 
girls  interested  in  such  study  would  be  glad  to  meet  with  them  and 
the  teacher  to  discuss  some  of  these  books  and  bulletins  one  or  two 
evenings  a  week  in  the  winter  term.  Some  farmer  may  be  found 
willing  to  take  the  lead  in  directing  such  study.  To  give  assistance 
in  this  work  the  books  below  are  suggested  as  among  those  that  can 
be  used;  they  can  be  procured  through  local  book  dealers: 

CORN  BOOKS. 

The  Book  of  Corn  (New  York,  1903,  pp.  368,  figs.  95). 

Manual  of  Corn  Judging,  by  A.  I).  Shamel  (New  York,  1903,  pp.  35,  pis.  12). 

The  A  B  C  of  Corn  Culture,  by  P.  G.  Holden  (Springfield,  Ohio,  1906,  pp.  92,  figs.  84). 

Corn:  Growing,  Judging,  Breeding,  Feeding,  and  Marketing,  by  M.  L.  Bowman  and 
B.  W.  Crossley  (Ames,  Iowa,  1908,  pp.  480,  figs.  172,  9  full-page  colored  plates,  illus¬ 
trating  insects  injurious  to  corn). 

The  Study  of  Corn,  by  V.  M.  Shoesmith  (New  York,  1910,  pp.  94,  figs.  25). 

409 


28 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


To  these  are  added  the  following  classified  list  of  corn  bulletins, 
some  of  which  have  been  already  referred  to  in  this  bulletin.  Those 
noted  as  “Farmers’  Bulletins”  are  furnished  free  by  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.,  as  long  as  the  supply 
lasts.  They  may  also  be  obtained  from  Senators,  Representatives, 
and  Delegates  in  Congress;  also  from  the  Superintendent  of  Docu¬ 
ments,  Government  Printing  Office,  at  5  cents  per  copy.  Those  issued 
by  one’s  own  state  experiment  station  or  agricultural  college  can  also 
be  had  free  of  charge  by  addressing  the  director  or  president,  and 
usually  at  least  one  copy  of  those  issued  by  other  States  can  be  had 
in  the  same  way: 

Bulletins  on  Corn. 

GENERAL. 

The  Nebraska  Corn  Book,  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

Studies  of  Corn  and  Its  Uses,  Illinois  Agricultural  College  Extension  Bulletin, 
Urbana,  Ill. 

Corn  Study,  South  Dakota  Agricultural  College  Bulletin,  Vol.  II,  No.  2. 

The  Production  of  Good  Seed  Corn,  Farmers’  Bulletin  229. 

Corn  Culture  in  the  South,  Farmers’  Bulletin  81. 

Growing  Sweet-corn  Seed  in  the  South,  Farmers’  Bulletin  222  (pp.  9-11). 

Value  of  Flint  Varieties  of  Corn,  Farmers’  Bulletin  225  (pp.  8-9). 

Pop  Corn,  Farmers’  Bulletin  202  (pp.  17-20). 

Extension  of  the  Corn-growing  Area,  Farmers’  Bulletin  227  (pp.  7-10). 

SEED-CORN  SELECTION. 

Bulletin  116,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Kingston,  R.  I. 

Bulletin  122,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Lexington,  Ky. 

Agricultural  College  Extension  Bulletin  1,  Vol.  II,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  Bulletin  2,  Teachers’  Series,  Stillwater,  Okla. 

Farmers’  Bulletins  193  (pp.  20-26),  225  (pp.  9,  10),  229,  244  (pp.  5-7),  253. 

SEED-CORN  TESTING. 

Special  Bulletin  47,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  East  Lansing,  Mich. 

Agricultural  College  Extension  Bulletin  7,  Vol.  II,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  Bulletin  2,  Teachers’  Series,  Stillwater,  Okla. 

Farmers’  Bulletins  229  and  253,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

TIME  AND  METHODS  OF  PLANTING. 

Bulletins  55,  65,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Experiment,  Ga. 

Bulletin  147,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Manhattan,  Kans. 

Bulletin  104,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Clemson  College,  S.  C 

Bulletin  134,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Auburn,  Ala. 

Planting  and  Replanting  Corn,  Farmers’  Bulletin  92  (pp.  6,  7). 

FERTILIZERS,  AND  HOW  TO  APPLY  THEM. 

Farmers’  Bulletins  44,  192,  388  (p.  5). 

CORN-HARVESTING  METHODS  AND  MACHINERY. 

Farmers’  Bulletins  303,  313. 


409 


SCHOOL  LESSONS  ON  CORN. 


29 


FEEDING  CORN  TO  LIVE  STOCK. 

Bulletin  102,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Urbana,  Ill. 

Farmers’  Bulletins  22  and  32. 

Corn  vs.  Wheat,  Farmers’  Bulletin  56  (p.  4). 

The  Value  of  Corn  as  a  Forage  Crop,  Farmers’  Bulletin  65  (pp.  6,  7). 

Corn  Stover  as  a  Feeding  Stuff,  Farmers’  Bulletin  84  (pp.  12-14). 

The  Feeding  Value  of  the  Corn  Plant  at  Different  Stages  of  Growth,  Farmers’  Bulle¬ 
tin  97  (pp.  9-12). 

Feeding  Moldy  Corn,  Farmers’  Bulletin  122  (pp.  26,  27). 

USES  OF  CORN  FOR  HUMAN  FOOD. 

Nebraska  Corn  Book,  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

Farmers’  Bulletins  249,  281  (pp.  18-22),  298. 

CORN  DISEASES  AND  PESTS. 

Corn  Smut,  Farmers’  Bulletin  69  (pp.  18-20). 

Cultural  Methods  of  Controlling  Corn  Billbugs  and  the  Corn  Root-louse,  Farmers’ 
Bulletin  259  (pp.  20,  21). 

The  Larger  Cornstalk  Borer,  Bureau  of  Entomology  Circular  16,  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture. 

The  Com  Root-worms,  Bureau  of  Entomology  Circular  59,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

The  Slender  Seed-corn  Ground-beetle  ( Clivina  impressifrons  Lee.),  Bureau  of  Ento¬ 
mology  Circular  78,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

CORN  CLUB  BULLETINS. 

Ohio  University  Bulletin  10,  Series  8,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Ohio  University  Bulletin  22,  Series  7,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

The  Winnebagoes,  1903,  County  Superintendent  O.  J.  Kern,  Rockford,  Ill. 
Nebraska  Boys’  and  Girls’  Associations,  University  Bulletin,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

The  Nebraska  Corn  Book,  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 

Boys’  Agricultural  Club  Bulletin,  County  Superintendent  Jessie  Field,  Clarinda, 
Iowa. 

Bulletin  98,  University  of  Georgia,  Athens,  Ga. 

Mississippi  School  Boys’  Experiment  Club,  Agricultural  College,  Miss. 

Bulletin  1,  Vol.  7,  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  Stillwater,  Okla. 

The  Grout  Farm  Encampment,  University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  Ill. 

Boys’  and  Girls’  Agricultural  Clubs,  Farmers’  Bulletin  385. 

Note. — Circular  94  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  contains  a  list  of  the  free 
publications  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  classified  for  the  convenient  use 
of  teachers  in  the  public  schools. 

409 


< 


FARMERS’  BULLETINS. 

Bulletins  in  this  list  will  be  sent  free,  so  long  as  the  supply  lasts,  to  any  resident 
oi  the  United  States,  on  application  to  his  Senator,  Representative,  or  Dele¬ 
gate  in  Congress,  or  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.  Because 
of  the  limited  supply,  applicants  are  urged  to  select  only  a  few  numbers,  choosing 
those  which  are  of  special  interest  to  them.  Residents  of  foreign  countries  should 
apply  to  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington 
D.  C.,  who  has  these  bulletins  for  sale.  Price  5  cents  each  to  Canada,  Cuba,  and 
Mexico;  6  cents  to  other  foreign  countries.  The  bulletins  entitled  “Experiment 
Station  Work”  give  briefly  the  results  of  experiments  performed  by  the  State  experi¬ 
ment  stations. 


22.  The  Feeding  of  Farm  Animals. 

27.  Flax  for  Seed  and  Fiber. 

28.  Weeds:  And  How  to  Kill  Them. 

30.  Grape  Diseases  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

32.  Silos  and  Silage. 

34.  Meats:  Composition  and  Cooking. 

35.  Potato  Culture. 

36.  Cotton  Seed  and  Its  Products. 

44.  Commercial  Fertilizers. 

48.  The  Manuring  of  Cotton. 

49.  Sheep  Feeding. 

51.  Standard  Varieties  of  Chickens. 

52.  The  Sugar  Beet. 

54.  Some  Common  Birds. 

55.  The  Dairy  Herd. 

56.  Experiment  Station  Work — I. 

60.  Methods  of  Curing  Tobacco. 

61.  Asparagus  Culture. 

62.  Marketing  Farm  Produce. 

63.  Care  of  Milk  on  the  Farm. 

64.  Ducks  and  Geese. 

65.  Experiment  Station  Work — II. 

69.  Experiment  Station  Work— III. 

73.  Experiment  Station  Work— IV. 

77.  The  Liming  of  Soils. 

78.  Experiment  Station  Work— V. 

79.  Experiment  Station  Work — VI. 

81.  Corn  Culture  in  the  South. 

82.  The  Culture  of  Tobacco. 

83.  Tobacco  Soils. 

84.  Experiment  Station  Work — VII. 

85.  Fish  as  Food. 

86.  Thirty  Poisonous  Plants. 

87.  Experiment  Station  Work— VIII. 

88.  Alkali  Lands. 

91.  Potato  Diseases  and  Treatment. 

92.  Experiment  Station  Work — IX. 

93.  Sugar  as  Food. 

96.  Raising  Sheep  for  Mutton. 

97.  Experiment  Station  Work — X. 

99.  Insect  Enemies  of  Shade  Trees. 

101.  Millets. 

103.  Experiment  Station  Work — XI. 

104.  Notes  on  Frost. 

105.  Experiment  Station  Work — XII. 

106.  Breeds  of  Dairy  Cattle. 

110.  Rice  Culture  in  the  United  States. 

113.  The  Apple  and  How  to  Grow  It. 

114.  Experiment  Station  Work — XIV. 

118.  Grape  Growing  in  the  South. 

119.  Experiment  Station  Work — XV. 

120.  Insects  Affecting  Tobacco. 

121.  Beans,  Peas,  and  Other  Legumes  as  Food. 

122.  Experiment  Station  Work — XVI. 

126.  Practical  Suggestions  for  Farm  Buildings. 

127.  Important  Insecticides. 

128.  Eggs  and  Their  Uses  as  Food. 

131.  Household  Tests  for  Detection  of  Oleomar¬ 
garine  and  Renovated  Butter. 

133.  Experiment  Station  Work — XVIII. 

134.  Tree  Planting  on  Rural  School  Grounds. 

135.  Sorghum  Sirup  Manufacture. 

137.  The  Angora  Goat. 

138.  Irrigation  in  Field  and  Garden. 

139.  Emmer:  A  Grain  for  theSemiarid  Regions. 

140.  Pineapple  Growing. 

142.  Nutrition  and  Nutritive  Value  of  Food. 

144.  Experiment  Station  Work — XIX. 

145.  Carbon  Bisulphid  as  an  Insecticide. 

149.  Experiment  Station  Work — XX. 

150.  Clearing  New  Land. 

152.  Scabies  of  Cattle. 

154.  Home  Fruit  Garden:  Preparation  and  Care. 

155.  How  Insects  Affect  Health  in  Rural  Districts. 
J56.  The  Home  Vineyard. 


157.  The  Propagation  of  Plants. 

158.  How  to  Build  Small  Irrigation  Ditches. 

162.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXI. 

164.  Rape  as  a  Forage  Crop. 

166.  Cheese  Making  on  the  Farm. 

167.  Cassava. 

169.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXII. 

170.  Principles  of  Horse  Feeding. 

172.  Scale  Insects  and  Mites  on  Citrus  Trees. 

173.  Primer  of  Forestry.  Part  I:  The  Forest. 

174.  Broom  Corn. 

175.  Home  Manufacture  and  Use  of  Unfermented 

Grape  Juice. 

176.  Cranberry  Culture. 

177.  Squab  Raising. 

178.  Insects  Injurious  in  Cranberry  Culture. 

179.  Horseshoeing. 

181.  Pruning. 

182.  Poultry  as  Food. 

183.  Meat  on  the  Farm:  Butchering,  Curing,  etc 

185.  Beautifying  the  Home  Grounds. 

186.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXIII. 

187.  Drainage  of  Farm  Lands. 

188.  Weeds  Used  in  Medicine. 

190.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXIV. 

192.  Barnyard  Manure. 

193.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXV. 

194.  Alfalfa  Seed. 

195.  Annual  Flowering  Plants. 

196.  Usefulness  of  the  American  Toad. 

197.  Importation  of  Game  Birds  and  Eggs  fov 

Propagation. 

198.  Strawberries. 

200.  Turkeys. 

201.  Cream  Separator  on  Western  Farms. 

202.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXVI. 

203.  Canned  Fruits,  Preserves,  and  Jellies. 

204.  The  Cultivation  of  Mushrooms. 

205.  Pig  Management. 

206.  Milk  Fever  and  Its  Treatment. 

209.  Controlling  the  Boll  Weevil  in  Cotton  Seed 

and  at  Ginneries, 

210.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXVII. 

213.  Raspberries. 

218.  The  School  Garden. 

219.  Lessons  from  Grain  Rust  Epidemic  of  1904. 

220.  Tomatoes. 

221.  Fungous  Diseases  of  the  Cranberry. 

222.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXVIII. 

223.  Miscellaneous  Cotton  Insects  in  Texas. 

224.  Canadian  Field  Peas. 

225.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXIX. 

227.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXX. 

228.  Forest  Planting  and  Farm  Management. 

229.  The  Production  of  Good  Seed  Corn. 

231.  Spraying  for  Cucumber  and  Melon  Diseases. 

232.  Okra:  Its  Culture  and  Uses. 

233.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXXI. 

234.  The  Guinea  Fowl. 

235.  Preparation  of  Cement  Concrete. 

236.  Incubation  and  Incubators. 

237.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXXII. 

238.  Citrus  Fruit  Growing  in  the  Gulf  States. 

239.  The  Corrosion  of  Fence  Wire. 

241.  Butter  Making  on  the  Farm. 

242.  An  Example  of  Model  Farming. 

243.  Fungicides  and  Their  Use  in  Preventing  Dis¬ 

eases  of  Fruits.  + 

244.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXXIII. 

245.  Renovation  of  Worn-out  Soils. 

246.  Saccharine  Sorghums  for  Forage. 

248.  The  Lawn. 

249.  Cereal  Breakfast  Foods. 

250.  The  Prevention  of  Stinking  Smut  of  WhQftt 

and  Loose  Smut  of  Oat§. 


(I) 


II 


251.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXXIV 

252.  Maple  Sugar  and  Sirup. 

253.  The  Germination  of  Seed  Corn. 

254.  Cucumbers. 

255.  The  Home  Vegetable  Garden. 

256.  Preparation  of  Vegetables  for  the  Table. 

257.  Soil  Fertility. 

258.  Texas  or  Tick  Fever  and  Its  Prevention. 

259.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXXV. 

260.  Seed  of  Red  Clover  and  Its  Impurities. 

262.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXXVI. 

263.  Information  for  Beginners  in  Irrigation. 

264.  The  Brown-tail  Moth  and  Howto  Control  It. 

266.  Management  of  Soils  to  Conserve  Moisture. 

267.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXXVII. 

269.  Industrial  Alcohol:  Uses  and  Statistics. 

270.  Modern  Conveniences  for  the  Farm  Home. 

271.  Forage  Crop  Practices  in  Western  Oregon 

and  Western  Washington. 

272.  A  Successful  Hog  and  Seed-corn  Farm. 

273.  Experiment  Station  Work— XXXVIII. 

274.  Flax  Culture. 

275.  The  Gipsy  Moth  and  How  to  Control  It. 

276.  Experiment  Station  Work — XXXIX. 

277.  Alcohol  and  Gasoline  in  Farm  Engines. 

278.  Leguminous  Crops  for  Green  Manuring. 

279.  A  Method  of  Eradicating  Johnson  Grass. 

280.  A  Profitable  Tenant  Dairy  Farm. 

281.  Experiment  Station  Work — XL. 

282.  Celery. 

283.  Spraying  for  Apple  Diseases  and  the  Codling 

Moth  in  the  Ozarks. 

284.  Insect  and  Fungqus  Enemies  of  the  Grape 

East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

286.  Comparative  Value  of  Whole  Cotton  Seed 

and  Cotton-seed  Meal  in  Fertilizing  Cotton. 

287.  Poultry  Management. 

288.  Nonsaccharine  Sorghums. 

289.  Beans. 

290.  The  Cotton  Bollworm. 

291.  Evaporation  of  Apples. 

292.  Cost  of  Filling  Silos. 

293.  Use  of  Fruit  as  Food. 

294.  Farm  Practice  in  Columbia  Basin  Uplands. 

295.  Potatoes  and  Other  Root  Crops  as  Food. 

296.  Experiment  Station  Work— XLI. 

298.  Food  Value  of  Corn  and  Corn  Products. 

299.  Diversified  Farming  Under  the  Plantation 

System. 

301.  Home-grown  Tea. 

302.  Sea  Island  Cotton:  Its  Culture,  Improve¬ 

ment,  and  Diseases. 

303.  Corn  Harvesting  Machinery. 

304.  Growing  and  Curing  Hops. 

305.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLII. 

306.  Dodder  in  Relation  to  Farm  Seeds. 

307.  Roselle:  Its  Culture  and  Uses. 

309.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLIII. 

310.  A  Successful  Alabama  Diversification  Farm. 

311.  Sand-clay  and  Burnt-clay  Roads. 

312.  A  Successful  Southern  Hay  Farm. 

313.  Harvesting  and  Storing  Corn. 

314.  A  Method  of  Breeding  Early  Cotton  to  Es¬ 

cape  Boll-weevil  Damage. 

316.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLIV. 

317.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLV. 

318.  Cowpeas. 

319.  Demonstration  Work  in  Cooperation  with 

Southern  Farmers. 

320.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLVI. 

321.  The  Use  of  the  Split-log  Dragon  Earth  Roads. 

322.  Milo  as  a  Dry-land  Grain  Crop. 

323.  Clover  Farming  on  the  Sandy  Jack-pine 

Lands  of  the  North. 

324.  Sweet  Potatoes. 

325.  Small  Farms  in  the  Corn  Belt. 

326.  Building  Up  a  Run-down  Cotton  Plantation. 

328.  Silver  Fox  Farming. 

329.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLVII. 

330.  Deer  Farming  in  the  United  States. 

331.  Forage  Crops  for  Hogs  in  Kansas  and  Okla¬ 

homa. 

332.  Nuts  and  Their  Uses  as  Food. 

333.  Cotton  Wilt. 

334.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLVIII. 

335.  Harmful  and  Beneficial  Mammals  of  the 

Arid  Interior. 

337.  Cropping  Systems  for  New  England  Dairy 
Farms. 


338.  Macadam  Roads. 

339.  Alfalfa. 

341.  The  Basket  Willow. 

342.  Experiment  Station  Work — XLIX. 

343.  The  Cultivation  of  Tobacco  in  Kentucky 

and  Tennessee. 

344.  The  Boll  Weevil  Problem,  with  Special  Refer¬ 

ence  to  Means  of  Reducing  Damage. 

345.  Some  Common  Disinfectants. 

346.  The  Computation  of  Rations  for  Farm  Ani¬ 

mals  by  the  Use  of  Energy  Values. 

347.  The  Repair  of  Farm  Equipment. 

348.  Bacteria  in  Milk. 

349.  The  Dairy  Industry  in  the  South. 

350.  The  Dehorning  of  Cattle. 

351 .  The  Tuberculin  Testof  Cattle  forTuberculosis. 

352.  The  Nevada  Mouse  Plague  of  1907-8. 

353.  Experiment  Station  Work— L. 

354.  Onion  Culture. 

355.  A  Successful  Poultry  and  Dairy  Farm. 

356.  Peanuts. 

357.  Methods  of  Poultry  Management  at  the  Maine 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

358.  A  Primer  of  Forestry.  Part  II:  Practical  For¬ 

estry. 

359.  Canning  Vegetables  in  the  Home. 

360.  Experiment  Station  Work — LI. 

361.  Meadow  Fescue:  Its  Culture  and  Uses. 

362.  Conditions  AffectingtheValueof MarketHay. 

363.  The  Use  of  Milk  as  Food. 

364.  A  Profitable  Cotton  Farm. 

365.  Farm  Management  in  Northern  Potato¬ 

growing  Sections. 

366.  Experiment  Station  Work — LII. 

367.  Lightning  and  Lightning  Conductors. 

368.  The  Eradication  of  Bindweed,  or  Wild  Morn¬ 

ing-glory. 

369.  How  to  Destroy  Rats. 

370.  Replanning  a  Farm  for  Profit. 

371.  Drainage  of  Irrigated  Lands. 

372.  Soy  Beans. 

373.  Irrigation  of  Alfalfa. 

374.  Experiment  Station  Work — LIII. 

375.  Care  of  Food  in  the  Home. 

376.  Game  Laws  for  1909. 

377.  Harmfulness  of  Headache  Mixtures. 

378.  Methods  of  Exterminating  Texas-fever  Tick. 

379.  Hog  Cholera. 

380.  The  Loco-weed  Disease. 

381.  Experiment  Station  Work— LIV. 

382.  The  Adulteration  of  Fcrage-planf  Seeds. 

383.  How  to  Destroy  English  Sparrows. 

384.  Experiment  Station  Work — LV. 

385.  Boys’  and  Girls’  Agricultural  Clubs. 

386.  PotatoCultureon  Irrigated  Farmsof  the  West. 

387.  ThePreservativeTreatmentof  Farm  Timbers. 

388.  Experiment  Station  Work — LVI. 

389.  Bread  and  Bread  Making. 

390.  Pheasant  Raising  in  the  United  States. 

391.  Economical  Use  of  Meat  in  the  Home. 

392.  Irrigation  of  Sugar  Beets. 

393.  Habit-forming  Agents. 

394.  Windmills  in  Irrigation  in  Semiarid  West. 

395.  Sixty-day  and  Kherson  Oats. 

396.  The  Muskrat. 

397.  Bees. 

398.  Farm  Practice  in  the  Use  of  Commercial  Fer¬ 

tilizers  in  the  South  Atlantic  States. 

399.  Irrigation  of  Grain. 

400.  A  More  Profitable  Corn-planting  Method. 

401.  Protection  of  Orchards  in  Northwest  from 

Spring  Frosts  by  Fires  and  Smudges. 

402.  Canada  Bluegrass:  Its  Culture  and  Uses. 

403.  The  Construction  of  Concrete  Fence  Posts. 

404.  Irrigation  of  Orchards. 

405.  Experiment  Station  Work— LVII. 

406.  Soil  Conservation. 

407.  The  Potato  as  a  Truck  Crop. 

408.  School  Exercises  in  Plant  Production. 

409.  School  Lessons  on  Corn. 

410.  Potato  Culls  for  Industrial  Alcohol. 

411.  Feeding  Hogs  in  the  South. 

412.  Experiment  Station  Work— LVIII. 

413.  Care  of  Milk  and  its  Use  in  the  Home. 

414.  Corn  Cultivation. 

415.  Seed  Corn. 

416.  Cigar-leaf  Tobacco  in  Pennsylvania. 


O 


